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FBG Movie Club - DotM: Kelly Reichardt (1 Viewer)

KarmaPolice

KarmaPolice

Footballguy
Month 1 Steven Spielberg
Month 2 Billy Wilder
Month 3 Martin Scorsese
Month 4 Denis Villeneuve
Month 5 George Miller
Month 6 Richard Linklater
Month 7 Ridley Scott


We wanted to switch gears after a lot of action movies, and also had been talking about how to mix it up a bit as far as the type of people we feature behind the camera. We both liked the idea of some quieter drama movies, and the August director was at the top of both of our lists. I also like that she ties into the theme and discussions about these directors having a muse, as we will get a good dose of Michelle Williams this month. As with some of the others we have picked, she also has a a newer movie out that I haven't gotten to. We will see how the discussion goes with somebody with only 8 movies, but both of us were really interested in talking about...

Month 8: Kelly Reichardt

I am hoping that the movies stay on the current streaming options, because as of now it looks like most people will be able to see 1 or 2 of her movies. I also think a few of these ideas could get some great movies watched this month...

HERE is a list of her favorite movies. There are a few on there I've never heard of and a I've only seen 1 of them (Safe)
1/2 her movies have been with Michelle Williams. I think I will watch one of hers I haven't seen or rewatch one that might fit in tonally here like Brokeback, Blue Valentine, Take This Waltz, Manchester, etc..
I am sure we can brainstorm other interesting pairings that would go with this month tonally. I've been hankering for a rewatch of Days of Heaven. Would that fit in with one of her movies?
 
According g to IMDb:

River of Grass - free on plex
Old joy - max
Wendy and Lucy- free on Tubi and Pluto (also on peacock)
Meeks cutoff-free on pluto
Night moves-free in freevee, Roku, prime (also peacock)
Certain women-free on Pluto and roku
Showing up- paramount+
First cow-free on flextube

Ok, I made that last one up because it’s not streaming anywhere, but some decent options otherwise. Interesting choice. Never seen any of these and I think night moves might be the only one I even know of.
 
We've talked of the +s and -s of Kanopy, but there are a few on there as well. They are short movies, so I knocked out River of Grass and Old Joy in the last few days. I love the change of pace these movies provide for a switch off blockbusters, but I wonder what other reactions will be. When I have thoughts of Campion, Malick, and Haynes while watching these first couple movies, she might not be everybody's cup of tea. I've also seen Wendy and Lucy which I found heartbreaking, and would recommend that one over her first 2. Her movies aren't overly long, so I might actually get through all of them this month.

I also listened to a couple interviews with her. Very interesting, but quiet person who seems to be the one who wraps of the interviews, so I don't think she loves that. Another podcast was also talking about how much she hated the Oscars and their parade of wealth. One thing she talked about that was quite disappointing but not surprising was that the big lull in movies from River of Grass to Old Joy was having meeting after meeting and being told they "don't do women's movies". She also said he basically followed Todd Haynes to Portland and helped him work on his debut Poison. Not a title I have heard of before, but it's also on Kanopy, so that could be an interesting tie in. Also after watching her first 2 movies, I do think some early Malick would be a good double feature as well. River of Grass' v.o. reminded me a bit of Badlands.
 
I started watching Meek's Cutoff last night. I'll save the Oregon Trail jokes til the write-up.

I do most of my movie viewing late at night after Mrs. E goes to bed which may be a problem this month because Meek's Cutoff was very slow.
 
Eephus said:
I started watching Meek's Cutoff last night. I'll save the Oregon Trail jokes til the write-up.

I do most of my movie viewing late at night after Mrs. E goes to bed which may be a problem this month because Meek's Cutoff was very slow.
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I am going to throw out a guess that the pacing will not get any quicker with any of the other movies. Are there any more 80s action movies you have left to mix in?
 
Since the setting is in the same part of the country as many of Reichardt's and it's also different take on westerns, McCabe & Mrs. Miller might make for an interesting pairing as well.
 
KarmaPolice said:
I am going to throw out a guess that the pacing will not get any quicker with any of the other movies. Are there any more 80s action movies you have left to mix in?
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I liked what I saw but I was too tired to handle the long takes and minimal dialog. I'll have to save the Reichardt films for when I have a little more energy.
 
Eephus said:
KarmaPolice said:
I am going to throw out a guess that the pacing will not get any quicker with any of the other movies. Are there any more 80s action movies you have left to mix in?
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I liked what I saw but I was too tired to handle the long takes and minimal dialog. I'll have to save the Reichardt films for when I have a little more energy.
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I fully get what you are saying. I got saved by the short run times, but I have the feeling I might be watching a couple of these over multiple nights. During the summer I don't have as much dedicated movie time so I try to get stuff in later than usual and often fall asleep.
 
Well, my wife is entirely coincidentally playing Oregon Trail on the Switch on one TV. Feel like I have to throw on Meek’s Cutoff on another.
 
KarmaPolice said:
Now I want to play Oregon Trail. Didn't know that was on Switch.
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It is a pretty faithful adaption, with some added features. I think my wife bought it more trying to get our son to play to share some nostalgia, but she has been playing it more and she enjoys it.

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Meek's Cutoff (2010)

I had some iced tea with dinner just in case so I wouldn't nod off but it wasn't necessary. I found Meek's Cutoff to be quite engaging once I figured out what was going on. The script drops viewers into the middle of the journey with little exposition about the relationships of the characters. It's never discussed how or why Meek got the three families off the main stem in the first place. Everyone except Millie accepts their lots in life and keep trudging toward survival. Michelle Williams' Mrs. Tetherow gradually emerges as the counterweight to Meek's bluster. I would say she's the conscience of the film but the story leaves some ambiguity whether she is a hero or fool. Meek is definitely a fool but a very philosophical one by old west standards.

Reichardt made some interesting directorial decisions. The film is shot in the old 4:3 academy aspect ratio which traps the the characters in a small frame with the vast landscapes. She and cinematographer Christopher Blauveldt often position the camera in unconventional locations, sometimes reducing the dialog between characters in the distance to sub-audible levels. If I ever watch it again, I'll look to see if this done from the perspective of Williams' character. I ended up turning subtitles on which is something I rarely do for films in English.

I liked how the film showed the monotony of the long journey and the mundane tasks the group performed. The plodding motion of the wagons from right to left on the screen was a constant. I only noticed a handful of times when the action (and I use that term liberally) moved in the reverse direction and those were significant moments of the film. I can't say I loved the ending but I won't spoil it.
 
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started with Reichardt’s last movie, Showing Up, as it is on paramount plus and my free month runs out soon.

I want to first assure you that fans of room tone and quirkporn and close ups that would make John Cassavetes claustrophobic will find this movie a true delight.

Showtime calls this movie comedy, but I really wouldn’t say that it is. The funniest part to me was when Judd Hirsch’s guests are first revealed. There are certainly some moments of aren’t people weird and life kind of charming and unusual and thus amusing, but it’s still very dry.
That being said, it was not a bad movie and sometimes reminded me of Linklater with its insistence on capturing life as it really is. A number of shots had interesting framings and the shot of Andre 3000 casually leaving Jo’s house one morning and the camera naturalistically moving to Lizzy’s perspective and then her interaction with Jo captured a lot of what this movie is about, imo.

I felt like there was something more to the sculptures that I couldn’t quite grasp and what they meant and how they related to her Lizzy’s character and the movie themes (aside from the fact that they were basically all reflecting damage in some way).

The performances were mostly good and the direction was good, although sometimes it felt a little too intentional, like I could really feel how she was setting up the shot. Maybe I was just being hyper aware of it. I also wonder about the fact that she edited it herself. Maybe this is more common among indie auteur filmmakers, but I never really thought of that being the case.

I was at the library yesterday and took a quick look through the dvds and happened to notice that Certain Women was there, so I grabbed that and noticed that she edited that too, so I am curious if she has edited all of her movies. (They also happened to have Body of Lies, so I grabbed that as well and will be not allow the Ridley Scott thread to go gently into that good night).
 
Eephus said:
Meek's Cutoff (2010)

I had some iced tea with dinner just in case so I wouldn't nod off but it wasn't necessary. I found Meek's Cutoff to be quite engaging once I figured out what was going on. The script drops viewers into the middle of the journey with little exposition about the relationships of the characters. It's never discussed how or why Meek got the three families off the main stem in the first place. Everyone except Millie accepts their lots in life and keep trudging toward survival. Michelle Williams' Mrs. Tetherow gradually emerges as the counterweight to Meek's bluster. I would say she's the conscience of the film but the story leaves some ambiguity whether she is a hero or fool. Meek is definitely a fool but a very philosophical one by old west standards.

Reichardt made some interesting directorial decisions. The film is shot in the old 4:3 academy aspect ratio which traps the the characters in a small frame with the vast landscapes. She and cinematographer Christopher Blauveldt often position the camera in unconventional locations, sometimes reducing the dialog between characters in the distance to sub-audible levels. If I ever watch it again, I'll look to see if this done from the perspective of Williams' character. I ended up turning subtitles on which is something I rarely do for films in English.

I liked how the film showed the monotony of the long journey and the mundane tasks the group performed. The plodding motion of the wagons from right to left on the screen was a constant. I only noticed a handful of times when the action (and I use that term liberally) moved in the reverse direction and those were significant moments of the film. I can't say I loved the ending but I won't spoil it.
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I started this last night, but it looked better than I was expecting, and quieter as well. I will need to watch this one on the better screen with the headphones.

I'll have to look for the moments when it goes opposite, but I remember her laughing about her choice of using oxen in the movie to be more authentic because they don't back up so they always had to keep the action moving forward.
 
Why do you edit your own films? Have you ever been advised to make them more mainstream in pacing?

The less money you take, the more freedom you have. I’ve never made a film where I don’t have final cut. And I can’t imagine doing that. That just seems like it would be turmoil. I edit because that’s where you learn how to direct, really. All the answers of what you should have done are in the editing. I miss out on being able to be in a conversation with someone, and I can see where that can be a really valuable thing–to have someone with more of a distance to be having a dialogue with. You write alone, and scouting is really lonely. Then you do this really intense thing with a lot of people. Afterwards, I usually feel like I want to hide away with my film again and go through the process of making sure that every possible thing has been tried. I’m a big believer in letting your film be bad for a while, and not trying to get to a good cut too quickly. I just want to be involved and I want that process, because it makes me think of what lens I should have used or what I should have done. It’s such a learning experience that I hate to miss out on it. I teach, and when you make films, you get further and further from the equipment. I have to stay in touch with something, because I teach.
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I found that blurb from an Indiewire article. I didn't link the whole thing because it had plot info about Night Moves. She has that bit at the start about money. When I looked I didn't see any of her movies besides Wendy and Lucy as being profitable for the powers that be.
 
Certain Women (2013)

This is a basically three short films that are not really connected except that they are set in the same basic place, in and around Livingston, Montana. According to Reichardt in the DVD commentary, the movie was originally titled Livingston Blows (based on the fact that it is the windiest city in the country) but the financers did not want such a sexual title (unless she was joking about that).

The opening title shot is gorgeous and Reichardt takes advantage of the vast, open landscapes of Montana, while still maintaining plenty of her close-in shots of the characters.

I found the stories to become increasingly more interesting (and didn’t really care so much for the first one). The final story featuring Kristin Stewart and Lily Gladstone was kind of a masterclass in less is more from the actors and the director. Reinhardt is such a simple and straightforward director in many ways, but is thus able to capture a feeling of reality in a way that many directors don’t. Gladstone and Stewart’s stillness and utterly uncluttered performances further build on Reichardt’s understated direction to evoke the true and raw emotions of Gladstone’s character across the story’s arc.

Reichardt does remind me of linklater at times , especially the car ride in the middle story which seemed quite similar to the one in the last Before movie. But Reichardt has a stillness that I think is more revealing of reality than linklater who is a little more focused on his character’s thoughts and actions than just the simple essence of being. I guess I shouldn’t say either is better than the other, just impressed by reichardt’s ability to use minimalism to make the characters and story feel so much richer.
 
The Big Trail (1930)

It was too late night to start a Reichardt film so I went with a thematic ancestor of Meek's Crossing instead. The Big Trail was a big budget early talkie and the first starring role for 23 year-old John Wayne. Like Meek's Crossing, it's the story of settlers headed to Oregon in the 1840s but with love and revenge side plots involving Wayne's character. The group of travelers is much bigger with about 40 wagons and over 100 head of cattle. Wayne was a more trustworthy scout than Meek although the trail boss was a more obvious villain.

The Big Trail was one of only four early movies shot in widescreen format in 70mm. The process failed because few theaters could afford the extra expense. Director Raoul Walsh fills the edges of the screen with action but movement of the camera was limited like early Cinemascope productions. Some of this was due to the size of the equipment and the need to shoot simultaneously in 35mm for regular theaters. The big scenes with river crossings, cattle stampedes and battles with Indians are still spectacular in spite of their age. Walsh began his career as an assistant to D.W. Griffith and worked in Hollywood for over 50 years. The Scorsese American cinema documentary I watched when Marty was DotW spent a lot of time about Walsh's career.

The Westward migration of the mid 19th century is one of central myths of American history. This version is more heroic than the poor souls in Meek's Cutoff trudging into the unknown. The story and characters are hokey and dated but the scenes of the wagon train have a realistic quality to them that makes this movie stands out vs. other early sound Westerns I've seen.

youtu.be

The Big Trail with John Wayne 1930 - 1080p HD Film

Breck Coleman leads hundreds of settlers in covered wagons from the Mississippi River to their destiny out West. Please remember to like this film and subscr...
youtu.be youtu.be

The YT print quality is excellent and shown in the unusual for its time widescreen format. It's funny I've watched two pioneer movies, a widescreen one from 1930 and a 4:3 aspect ratio one from 80 years later.
 
@Eephus oh nice pull I need to check out The Big Trail

My double feature recommendations would be

Meek’s Cutoff with 2015’s Slow West

First Cow with Howard Hawks’ The Big Sky

Wendy and Lucy with 2022’s A Love Song

Showing Up with 2015’s The End of the Tour
 
Happy As Lazzaro (2018)

I don't know whether the article listing Reichardt's ten favorites was in order of precedence but this was at #1. I never heard of this Italian film or its director Alice Rohrwacher before and I guess I'm not alone because neither have been mentioned in the main recently viewed movie thread in spite of being available on Netflix for almost six years.

I'm no expert on Reichardt's work but Happy as Lazzaro bears some superficial similarities to Meek's Cutoff. They both are quiet, deliberative films with a naturalistic style, particularly in how they're lit with available light. Rohrwacher's film is set in an isolated Italian village that appears to be almost frozen in the past. A few intrusions of modernity chip away at this before a major twist around the midway point lifts the story from a neo-realist portrait of rural life to something more akin to magical realism. Then the film becomes the story of how the anachronistic characters adapt to dramatic changes in their way of life. Lazzaro is an unwitting catalyst for the change in order but he remains a wide-eyed innocent throughout as the world dramatically changes around him.

It's a lovely film that is transcendent in its best moments. I preferred the scenes set in the countryside to the ones in the city. As the story progressed, Rohrwacher became more of fabulist and Lazzaro assumed more divine characteristics. I thought the story ran out of gas a little towards the end but I'm a non-religious old fart. Viewers with greater faith will probably appreciate the purity and goodness of the character. Rohrwacher also has a 2022 short on Disney+ of all places so maybe I'll watch that so ditkaburgers gets more value out of the Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle she pays for.
 
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I've had a couple of days to think about Happy as Lazzaro and I think it's a better movie that I gave it credit for immediately after watching or maybe it's just the contrast with the crappy Bradley Cooper chef movie we watched tonight.

Happy as Lazzaro is a grower that's going to stay with me for a while.
 
Watched Showing Up last night. Agree with Long Ball Larry’s take above that would not put this in the comedy bucket. I noticed on RT that this one was 89% positive with critics, but only 48% with audience. I wonder how much of the negative audience was people expecting something different than what they got, as I was on same page with critics on it. It’s definitely another slow one, but I was personally okay with the pace as fit the characters and story well.

I was also looking for the pigeon emoji, but remembered that was banned here after a, uh, controversial thread. So, 🐦 instead.
 
First Cow

Found this one more challenging to get into than the others I’ve watched. I also wanted to go back and rewatch a couple things, but either the dvd or the my player is somehow messed up now, so no dice.

The first half is very slow. The early shot with the boat once we go back in time is similar to certain women, though not as cinematic. Maybe it’s because Ive watched all of Yellowstone and its spinoffs over the past year, but I guess I had a hard time getting into the plain and cordial relationship of cookie and ling-Xu (is that the right name)? I think they played their roles well and with reichardt’s typical simplicity, but it didn’t really feel genuine. Maybe that did happen. The entrepreneurial spirit of the old west did make sense, though. I thought it picked up when the chief factor came along and especially when they had to bring the clafortee(sp???) and I loved the scene with all of them in the chief factor’s house. When cookie and ling-xu were escaping and we saw that kid who got pushed ahead of in line and couldn’t get an oily cake sitting with the gun, seemed like he would definitely take them out. So the ending seemed a little too happy just for its own sake. I did see the AO Scott review when I was trying to look up a couple things about this and I think he mentioned that the opening with Alia shakwat finding the skeletons cast a sense of foreboding over the whole movie, which Reinhardt then subverts, playing into and away from the tension . So I suppose that’s an interesting thought and probably true about the choice of the opening scene.
 
Old Joy tonight. Alright, three movies into Kelly Reinhardt and need to thank @KarmaPolice and @Ilov80s for this month. I’ve been feeling in a rut movie-wise. Director that I was not familiar with, but 3/3 so far for me. Something about her style just works me. I’m on the introverted-side, and she seems to get introverts better than most, or at least willing to portray them better than most (while I really enjoyed the Linklater Midnight’s, also felt like Ethan Hawke’s character just needed to shut up sometimes). Even though this one was just a little over 70 minutes long, the dialogue was still sparse and it still felt the space to breathe and give room for thoughts as get in the head of each of the characters.

The characters reminded me a bit of Showing Up — while that one had two female characters drawn together by circumstance (and this one two old friends together for a road trip), felt like each of the characters resembled the main ones. Mark here reminded me of Michelle Williams’ in Showing Up, as the quiet, responsible one, with Mark dealing with his pregnant wife at home and trying to settle down, and at times both annoyed and envious a bit of the other’s lifestyle. And Kurt’s character a bit more like Jo, as more flighty and irresponsible; Kurt seems a bit more self-aware throughout, but Jo seemed to show some self-awareness at the end. Maybe it is because I just watched that one last night, but saw some parallels.

Oh, and great score by Yo La Tengo on this one.
 
Bronx, New York, November 2019 / Cal State Long Beach, CA, January 2020 (2021)

The Centre Pompidou in Paris commissioned Reichardt to direct a short film as part of their "Où en êtes-vous" ("Where are you?") series, in which filmmakers were asked to provide a personal status report. Reichardt submitted not one but two films showing actual female sculptors in advance of her 2022 feature Showing Up which is about a sculptor.

They're both documentaries showing the artists at work in their studios. The Bronx one is about Michelle Segre who does large mobiles constructed from fabric and wire while the Long Beach one features Jessica Jackson Hutchins (Stephen Malkmus' wife) who works with clay. The films are shot simply in 16mm with natural light, long takes and subtle camera movements. They're too short to show much of the artists' creative process and there's no narration to let the sculptors explain their work. I haven't watched Showing Up to see how these studies informed the final movie.

I liked the Bronx one better because Segre's workspace was more visually interesting; Reichardt showed trains passing through the studio's windows and took her camera across the street to show a man powerwashing a truck. The Long Beach film took place entirely in Hutchins' studio with she and a collaborator working on a couple of large pieces. They're both short enough (~10 min) to see for yourself.

youtu.be

Où en êtes-vous, Kelly Reichardt ? | Centre Pompidou

« Bronx, New York, Novembre 2019 » de Kelly ReichardtDans le cadre de la collection « Où en êtes-vous ? »France – États-Unis, 2021, 16 mm numérisé, 9’ et 10’...
youtu.be youtu.be
youtu.be

Où en êtes-vous, Kelly Reichardt ? | Centre Pompidou

« Cal State Long Beach, CA, Janvier 2020 » de Kelly ReichardtDans le cadre de la collection « Où en êtes-vous ? »France – États-Unis, 2021, 16 mm numérisé, ...
youtu.be youtu.be

The Pompidou also posted a clips and talking head interview with Reichardt prepared as part of a career retrospective they hosted in 2021.
 
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Don Quixote said:
Noticed TCM has a pair of Godard films on tonight, Breathless and Pierrot le fou. I haven’t seen River of Grass yet, but saw Breathless listed as an influence for it alongside Badlands.
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JP Belmondo is the star of the day.

That Man From Rio is starting at the top of the hour. It's a wonderfully fun watch that has absolutely nothing to do with Kelly Reichardt.

ETA: I see The Burglars was shown this morning but is available to stream. It's no masterpiece but has one of the greatest car chases ever shot.
 
Eephus said:
Bronx, New York, November 2019 / Cal State Long Beach, CA, January 2020 (2021)

The Centre Pompidou in Paris commissioned Reichardt to direct a short film as part of their "Où en êtes-vous" ("Where are you?") series, in which filmmakers were asked to provide a personal status report. Reichardt submitted not one but two films showing actual female sculptors in advance of her 2022 feature Showing Up which is about a sculptor.

They're both documentaries showing the artists at work in their studios. The Bronx one is about Michelle Segre who does large mobiles constructed from fabric and wire while the Long Beach one features Jessica Jackson Hutchins (Stephen Malkmus' wife) who works with clay. The films are shot simply in 16mm with natural light, long takes and subtle camera movements. They're too short to show much of the artists' creative process and there's no narration to let the sculptors explain their work. I haven't watched Showing Up to see how these studies informed the final movie.

I liked the Bronx one better because Segre's workspace was more visually interesting; Reichardt showed trains passing through the studio's windows and took her camera across the street to show a man powerwashing a truck. The Long Beach film took place entirely in Hutchins' studio with she and a collaborator working on a couple of large pieces. They're both short enough (~10 min) to see for yourself.

youtu.be

Où en êtes-vous, Kelly Reichardt ? | Centre Pompidou

« Bronx, New York, Novembre 2019 » de Kelly ReichardtDans le cadre de la collection « Où en êtes-vous ? »France – États-Unis, 2021, 16 mm numérisé, 9’ et 10’...
youtu.be youtu.be
youtu.be

Où en êtes-vous, Kelly Reichardt ? | Centre Pompidou

« Cal State Long Beach, CA, Janvier 2020 » de Kelly ReichardtDans le cadre de la collection « Où en êtes-vous ? »France – États-Unis, 2021, 16 mm numérisé, ...
youtu.be youtu.be

The Pompidou also posted a clips and talking head interview with Reichardt prepared as part of a career retrospective they hosted in 2021.
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I must have read this before but had literally zero recollection of it
 
Long Ball Larry said:
Starting Wendy and Lucy. I guess that opening with large modes of transportation moving slowly across the screen is kind of her signature…
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In general, I liked this movie. For a very small movie set in a small town with few people, it felt kind of unpredictable. Wasn’t sure if they would actually press charges for the shoplifting, if Lucy would be there when Wendy returned or not, whether the dog would ever actually show up again, whether the car could be fix, etc. though not exciting, these “turns” did keep it engaging, despite being such a quiet movie. I will say that I’m not sure what to think of Michelle Williams in all of these movies. I never seem to know what her characters really think or feel about much of anything outside of what is happening right from of them sometimes (and even not always that). The characters seem to be fixated on very immediate and in some ways small problems. I don’t think of that as an indictment of her, but a theme to consider among reichardt’s works.
 
BTW, Lucy is the same dog in both movies and was Reichardt's dog.

Eta: as in the dog in Old Joy
 
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KarmaPolice said:
BTW, Lucy is the same dog in both movies and was Reichardt's dog.

Eta: as in the dog in Old Joy
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A dog's concept of time revolves around routine, daily patterns, and associative learning. Dogs can't understand time in the abstract sense of hours and minutes, but they do have an internal awareness of time intervals.
 
I've been echoing most of the thoughts and have been liking others' enjoyment of the movies. I've watched all of the older ones and have the newest 3 left. I watched Night Moves the other night and I would say it's more of a 6/10 vs. the other 4 that I would rate higher. It was tense and still takes place in that area of the country, but something was a little off about it to me. Too slick, less interested in the subject matter, or maybe Jesse Eisenberg is too good at playing an a-hole I don't want to hang with. I would still use the same words to describe that one and the others though - well acted and directed, beautiful to look at, tense despite being slow moving, etc..
 
Certain Women (2013)

Three very loosely connected short stories about four women living out mostly solitary existences in a small Montana town. Their loneliness and longing for something better was accentuated by the stillness of the film. The film was so quiet that the occasional ambient music cues surprised me. Reichardt again used shots of the Northwest landscapes to reinforce the smallness of the characters. There were a number of interior scenes where the plains and mountains were visible in mirrors or through windows--the same locations that earlier generations faced in Meek's Cutoff.

I'm not going to lie, the slow pace coupled with incessant PlutoTV commercial breaks wore me down. I can't say I loved the film although I respected Reichardt's craft and her understanding of these characters. I guess the lack of resolution to any of the stories was the point but I felt like Michelle Williams staring at a pile of bricks by the end.
 
Watched Certain Women and Wendy and Lucy this weekend. Agree with Larry’s take on Certain Women each of the stories getting stronger as the movie went on. Was starting to lose interest (think I fell asleep a bit during the second story), but the Stewart-Gladstone one got me re-engaged. Probably my least favorite of hers that I’ve seen so far though.

On Wendy and Lucy…feel like an alcohol-depressant may not have been the right pairing for it. But it was a solid movie and kept me interested. Good performance by Michelle Williams too.
 
Eephus said:
Certain Women (2013)

Three very loosely connected short stories about four women living out mostly solitary existences in a small Montana town. Their loneliness and longing for something better was accentuated by the stillness of the film. The film was so quiet that the occasional ambient music cues surprised me. Reichardt again used shots of the Northwest landscapes to reinforce the smallness of the characters. There were a number of interior scenes where the plains and mountains were visible in mirrors or through windows--the same locations that earlier generations faced in Meek's Cutoff.

I'm not going to lie, the slow pace coupled with incessant PlutoTV commercial breaks wore me down. I can't say I loved the film although I respected Reichardt's craft and her understanding of these characters. I guess the lack of resolution to any of the stories was the point but I felt like Michelle Williams staring at a pile of bricks by the end.
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In the middle of river of grass right now on Plex and finding the ad breaks a challenge. Gotta check what else is available at the library.

I also must say that I think that maybe we are supposed to feel sorry for that old guy with the stones, but sitting around in my pajamas and a button down sweater while reading and listening/watching to Montana state football with no one around to bother me kind of sounds like heaven
 
Eephus said:
Don Quixote said:
(think I fell asleep a bit during the second story)
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Same

The second seemed very inconsequential. I kept waiting for the Michelle Williams character to discover her husband's infidelity but their microaggressions played out instead over an old man's stones.
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It was curious that the tie with her husband was in there and they never did anything with it. Half the time I was wondering if it was really the same guy.
 
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